This Week: Indian Wells
Preview the action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the year’s first Premier Mandatory event where 1000 ranking points are at stake for the winner.
Preview the action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the year’s first Premier Mandatory event where 1000 ranking points are at stake for the winner.
The loquacious Ashleigh Barty was uncharacteristically short of words after winning her first singles title at the ALYA Malaysian Open.
Ashleigh Barty has the shot of the day in the final of the ALYA Malaysian Open.
Qualifier Ashleigh Barty’s party rolled on as she beat Nao Hibino to win the ALYA Malaysian Open – her first singles title.
An interview with Ashleigh Barty after she won the ALYA Malaysian Open.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – It was twice as nice for Ashleigh Barty in Kuala Lumpur as she won the doubles title with Casey Dellacqua – adding that to the singles crown she had secured earlier in the day.
The Australian pair beat Nicole Melichar and Makoto Ninomiya 7-6(5), 6-3, coming back from 5-1 down in the first-set tiebreak to lift the trophy in straight sets.
“I feel great – very tired but great,” said Barty afterwards. “It’s been a monster week for me. I don’t think I could have physically have played any more matches. I’m very happy to come away with two titles today, but even if we didn’t it would have been a fantastic tournament anyway. Now it’s just an absolute bonus.”
Congrats @ashbar96 & @caseydellacqua #alyawtamalaysianopen #wta #alyakl #tpckl #mme #mymajorevents pic.twitter.com/XJWyHFEz2L
— AlyaWTAMalaysianOpen (@alyawtamo) March 5, 2017
Her partner Dellacqua admired the way that their opponents had played, giving them a tough time in the first set.
“They were playing really good tennis, really good doubles,” she said. “We just had to play each point as best we could. That’s all we did, we just applied ourselves really well for each of those points in that tiebreak especially.
“In tennis, you’re never out of it, I think that was pretty crucial to get that first set, and then just to get a break in the second, to space that lead out a little bit. That tiebreak, we did really well after being 5-1 down.”
Dellacqua is enjoying her time on court with her good friend Barty, and was delighted that she won the singles title – even if she was not actually able to watch it.
“It’s pretty nice to play with someone that’s just come off and won the singles, that’s always good!” laughed the 32-year-old. “I’m just stoked that I’m back. I wouldn’t be out here and enjoying it as much if it wasn’t playing with Ash, so yes, I feel good, I feel very happy that I was here to witness her, even though I didn’t get to watch, win her first title. I know that there’ll be many more to come. For us to win the doubles is an extra bonus. It’s pretty exciting.”
The pair burst into laughter when they were asked post-match whether they intended to continue playing doubles together.
“No, I don’t want to play with her again!” grinned Dellacqua.
“We’re done!” added Barty.
Once the hilarity subsided, Dellacqua gave a more serious response.
“Yes, of course. Ash has got a big load, she’s playing singles, so we’ll play whenever we can. When we do play we always enjoy it, and we go out there to do our best.”
Winning a Grand Slam title, of course, remains their ultimate goal.
“It’s a big dream to win [a Slam doubles title],” agreed Dellacqua. “We’ve made three Grand Slam finals together and we’ve never won one, but we don’t talk about it too much any more!
“If that happens, it happens. It’s about each week, each journey, just trying to get the best out of ourselves this week, and if that comes along, we’ll certainly be trying our best to win.”
Check out the best shots from the week’s action at the ALYA Malaysian Open.
Kristina Mladenovic has announced that she and Caroline Garcia have ended their doubles partnership.
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty took on Japan’s Nao Hibino in the final of the ALYA Malaysian Open.
ACAPULCO, Mexico – 27-year-old Lesia Tsurenko captured her third WTA title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel after a commanding victory over Kristina Mladenovic, 6-1, 7-5.
“I’m really happy to start the season like this: I had the semifinal in Hobart International and now this title here in Acapulco,” Tsurenko said after the match.
“It’s three of three now, it’s a 100% result for me and this makes me very happy,” she added, referencing her perfect success rate in WTA finals. “I’m very happy with this result, and to win the title here it’s just amazing.”
The No.2 seeded Mladenovic, who was seeking her second title in five weeks, found herself outhit from the start on Saturday night. The Ukrainian’s strong play from the baseline didn’t allow Mladenovic to find her rhythm; she was broken twice by Tsurenko and found herself down 4-0 after just 15 minutes, and was only able to hit 3 winners in the opening set.
.@LTsurenko thanks the @AbiertoTelcel fans for the great support ? #AMT2017 pic.twitter.com/h6lpwtuf4u
— WTA (@WTA) March 5, 2017
But it was far from smooth sailing after that, with eight consecutive breaks of serve starting out the second set.
It was Mladenovic who gritted out the crucial hold first and established a late foothold at 4-5, but Tsurenko stayed mentally strong to earn her own first hold of the set straight after. She broke once more and took the match with a strong service game for her first Acapulco title.
“It was a very difficult match, I felt very comfortable in the first set but in the second I felt quite nervous,” Tsurenko explained, decked out in the traditional Acapulco winner’s blue sombrero.
“She played better, and I think I was realizing that I could get the title and that was making me nervous. She really pushed me to play my best tennis because she was attacking a lot. I was just focusing on myself and doing everything that I can. I’m really happy to win.”
Love the Sombrero!
Congrats @LTsurenko, lift that @AbiertoTelcel trophy ? pic.twitter.com/JEGRbw7xAW
— WTA (@WTA) March 5, 2017
“I just want to congratulate Lesia,” Mladenovic said, delighting the Acapulco crowd by giving her runner-up speech in Spanish. “You’ve played great today and all week, and especially with these tough conditions. Congrats on the title and on the rest of the season.
“Acapulco is a very special place for me because three years ago was the first time I played the tournament, and I won the title in doubles.
“This year is just the second time I’ve played here and I’ve reached the singles final!”